--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But that was the last time. That was…how…" description: "\"“But that was the last time. That was…how should I say it? ... the one moment in my life when I was able to draw closest to Eri ... the one moment when..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg" --- # But that was the last time. That was…how should I say it?… ![“But that was the last time. That was…how should I say it? ... the one moment in my life when I was able to draw closest to Eri ... the one moment when she and I joined heart to heart as one: there was nothing separating us. After that, it seems, we grew further and further apart. We separated, and…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg) > ““But that was the last time. That was…how should I say it? ... the one moment in my life when I was able to draw closest to Eri ... the one moment when she and I joined heart to heart as one: there was nothing separating us. After that, it seems, we grew further and further apart. We separated, and before long we were living in different worlds. That sense of union I felt in the darkness of the lift, that strong bond between our hearts, never came back again. I don't know what went wrong, but we were never able to go back to where we started from.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on a fleeting, profound connection that once felt like a heart‑to‑heart union, now lost as they drift into separate lives. **In simple terms:** A deep bond once felt, now gone as lives diverge. Key Takeaway Cherish and nurture deep connections before they fade. Themes love loss connection memory loneliness Mood melancholic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - relationships - long‑distance love - personal growth - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology romanticism Questions to Reflect On - What made the bond feel so unique? - How can you rebuild intimacy after distance? A Different Perspective Idealized memories may overlook underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apart Separated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apart-separated-569152/) [Different world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-world/) [Different worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-worlds/) [Heart Separating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-separating-569151/) [Heart to heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-to-heart/) [Joined Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joined-heart-569150/) [Last time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-time/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moment Joined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-joined-569153/) [Separated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separated/) [Strong bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-bond/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Much more. We're joined at the heart." "Bad luck for you, I'm afraid. My ticker's pretty wonky." "Too much boozing." His eyes twinkled, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/much-more-we-re-joined-at-the-heart-bad-luck-for-you-i-m-afraid-my/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Here, for a moment, we are joined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-silliman/here-for-a-moment-we-are-joined/) [Ron Silliman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-silliman/) > [Since the moment I joined with Nightwish, I have been working non-stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floor-jansen/since-the-moment-i-joined-with-nightwish-i-have-been-working-non-stop/) [Floor Jansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floor-jansen/) > [“he was ever alone now, set apart from those around him, separated by a divide he could see across but never cover. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/he-was-ever-alone-now-set-apart-from-those-around-him-separated-by-a/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“Our lives were now worlds apart, separated by time, circumstance, and the unbridgeable chasm of money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-luedke/our-lives-were-now-worlds-apart-separated-by-time-circumstance-and/) [Travis Luedke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-luedke/) > [“For several seconds, they stand there, ...just four feet apart now, but separated by a thick granite counter, by fifty years and two fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-several-seconds-they-stand-there-just-four-feet-apart-now-but/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Only ways you can keep folks hating is to keep them apart and separated from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-walker/only-ways-you-can-keep-folks-hating-is-to-keep-them-apart-and/) [Margaret Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-walker/) > [Sometimes you write passages that don't need to be rewritten. Performance is that for me. Improvisation, things that happen in the moment, are sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-you-write-passages-that-don-t-need-to-be-rewritten/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Wilderness gave us knowledge. Wilderness made us human. We came from here. Perhaps that is why so many of us feel a strong bond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-norton/wilderness-gave-us-knowledge-wilderness-made-us-human-we-came-from/) [Boyd Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-norton/) > [“Wrestling through her introspection has coloured  her views of life, people and relationships. And working it out, with all the excitement, pain and fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rayner/wrestling-through-her-introspection-has-coloured-her-views-of-life/) [Sarah Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rayner/) > [America's strong bonds with Israel are well known - this bond is unbreakable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-s-strong-bonds-with-israel-are-well-known-this-bond-is/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I'm glad I had kids young because we have a strong bond and listen to the same music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-boi/i-m-glad-i-had-kids-young-because-we-have-a-strong-bond-and-listen-to/) [Big Boi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-boi/) > [Grace Kelly forged a link between Monaco and the movie world, and I would like to create a strong bond between Monaco and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-princess-of-monaco/grace-kelly-forged-a-link-between-monaco-and-the-movie-world-and-i/) [Charlene, Princess of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlene-princess-of-monaco/) > [When a horse and rider understand each other, they develop a strong bond of mutual trust and respect. There is no limit to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-anderson/when-a-horse-and-rider-understand-each-other-they-develop-a-strong/) [Clinton Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-anderson/) > [“...for the interests of rulers require that their subjects should be poor in spirit, and that there should be no strong bond of friendship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-the-interests-of-rulers-require-that-their-subjects-should-be/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Different world quotes > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“At least when I'm sleeping I can dream myself back to Alex, can dream myself into a different world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/at-least-when-i-m-sleeping-i-can-dream-myself-back-to-alex-can-dream/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I think dressing up or down should be a creative experience. Exciting. Fun. For me the key to personal style lies in accessories. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/i-think-dressing-up-or-down-should-be-a-creative-experience-exciting/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore? Nobody really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [Now, with social media, it's a whole different world, which is good and bad. Back when I was in college, when there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-siriano/now-with-social-media-it-s-a-whole-different-world-which-is-good-and/) [Christian Siriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-siriano/) > [Two entirely different people. They were from two different worlds. Somehow, somewhere.. They crated their own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanae-el-kherchi/two-entirely-different-people-they-were-from-two-different-worlds/) [Hanae El Kherchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanae-el-kherchi/) > [It's a different world for those of us who are doing this for a living. Certainly a lot different than my dad had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/it-s-a-different-world-for-those-of-us-who-are-doing-this-for-a/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [We have to know that the bad guys are not different from us in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/we-have-to-know-that-the-bad-guys-are-not-different-from-us-in-the/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [It's hard for two people to love each other when they live in two different worlds. But when these two worlds collide and become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-hard-for-two-people-to-love-each-other-when-they-live-in-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I talk about rock n' roll, to me, that goes back to the beginning of the 1950s. Blue suede shoes and sideburns, man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-keys/when-i-talk-about-rock-n-roll-to-me-that-goes-back-to-the-beginning/) [Bobby Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-keys/) > [Rene Char wrote somewhere, apropos poetry, that there are those who create and those who discover; they are too completely different worlds. Photograph also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/rene-char-wrote-somewhere-apropos-poetry-that-there-are-those-who/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [“We don't have a lot of choice about the world we live in. But we do have choices about our world-view. ... We read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wade-johnson/we-don-t-have-a-lot-of-choice-about-the-world-we-live-in-but-we-do/) [Kevin Wade Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wade-johnson/) > [We are too quickly losing important landscapes in this country to development - and I worry that if we do not act to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-bacon/we-are-too-quickly-losing-important-landscapes-in-this-country-to/) [Louis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-bacon/) > [If every seed turned into a plant, we'd be living in a very different world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/if-every-seed-turned-into-a-plant-we-d-be-living-in-a-very-different/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) [Browse all 631 Different world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But that was the last time. That was…how should I say it? ... the one moment in my life when I was able to draw closest to Eri ... the one moment when she and I joined heart to heart as one: there was nothing separating us. After that, it seems, we grew further and further apart. We separated, and before long we were living in different worlds. That sense of union I felt in the darkness of the lift, that strong bond between our hearts, never came back again. I don't know what went wrong, but we were never able to go back to where we started from.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how-should-i-say-it-the-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Different world" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how-should-i-say-it-the-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/haruki-murakami-21_different-world_but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how_2450849.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But that was the last time. That was…how should I say it? ... the one moment in my life when I was able to…” — Haruki Murakami", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But that was the last time....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how-should-i-say-it-the-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/but-that-was-the-last-time-that-was-how-should-i-say-it-the-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```